Sligo man jailed for 15 years for rape and abuse of his daughter

A Sligo man has been jailed for 15 years for the repeated rape and sexual abuse of his teenage daughter which led to him fathering her child.
The Central Criminal Court heard the abuse began in September 2005 when she was 13 and continued for 2 years.
”I trusted my dad, he was my hero growing up–I never knew what he was doing to me, I always felt it was my fault and I was ashamed of myself”
The words of the now 19 year old victim who told the court she doesn’t want her dad dead or alive, she just wishes he’d never existed.
In her victim impact evidence she said when social services and school liaison officers came to the house in her head she was screaming – he is abusing me – but there was always an emotional ball and chain keeping her quiet.
She was just 13 when the abuse began at their Sligo home  within 2 years she was pregnant with his child.
Her 48-year-old father has a previous conviction for rape and sexual abuse of another teenage girl.
He has been jailed for 15 years.